DAMIEN FITZHENRY'S achievements are framed in unusual contexts. The youngest of a family of 15 which backboned Duffry, Rovers remarkable feats - eight county titles in nine years - in the Wexford football championship, he grew up a dual player but became a participant in the county's greatest hurling exploit in nearly a generation.
It is a collective achievement that he has embroidered with his own individual touches. Aside from the quality of his shot stopping, especially in the Leinster final, he has ventured upfield twice, most importantly against Offaly but also in the provincial semi final with Dublin, to drill home penalty awards.,
The first top class goalkeeper the county has had in an age, he is, reckoned by some - including Wexford manager Liam Griffin to be an outfield star in the making, as soon as his expertise can safely be redeployed.
"We felt originally," says Griffin, "that we were short on numbers outfield and that he was good enough to hold his own in the future at, say, centre back. That it would be easy to find another goalkeeper. It didn't turn out that way.
One match crystallised Wexford's dilemma: the National League semi final against Galway last April. Fitzhenry, whose form at this stage had kept Larry O'Gorman off the team, squared u to the disproportionate bulk of Joe Rabbitte.
"People may judge him harshly on the Joe Rabbitte match," says Griffin, "but I believe that he could be a George O'Connor of years to come. Joe Rabbitte on his day is a great player and Damien had a disastrous first seven or, eight minutes. He was marking him too tight and rolling off him.
"He was just getting to grips with it in the run up to half time and `then at the start of the second half, Rabbitte took him apart again with a few sallies. I'd say Damien was only dominated for 15 minutes out of the 50 (before being substituted) but when a fella does that much damage off one or two balls".
Compounding this rough experience for Wexford was the unhappy, form of Seamus Kavanagh in goal. Having struggled to put a serious leg injury behind him, the then Wexford goalkeeper had a nightmare that day in Limerick sending his clearances out over the sideline and misjudging a couple of solo excursions. Two problems quickly became one.
Fitzhenry moved back to the posit ion in which he had made his name at senior level three years ago when taking up position between the goalposts for that defining season when Wexford played in five finals, including replays, and won none. His excellence was noted in most of the matches, but even more praiseworthy was his response when the occasional thing went wrong in the Leinster finals against Kilkenny. Even at 19, he was unflappable.
"He is very brave," says Griffin. "A stand up goalkeeper, not spectacular, but stands tall and that's important. The amount of times you have to dive to make a save are few and far between and then, there's nearly always someone following up who'll finish it. He's extremely confident and a great organiser of his defence.
Fitzhenry's foreseeable future will be in goal. Griffin and Wexford are wary about risking an underestimation of the position's importance. "I'd use a Kilkenny phrase," says the manager. "Put your best man `on goal'."
"It's good advice. I see it at under 10 and under 12. Put you best player centre back which is what usually happens and some poor little craythur in goal and he lets in three, which the team's never going to get back. Unless some spectacular young keeper comes on the scene, I can't see Damien moving out for a while.
"I think having played out the field has made him more agile and aware and definitely left him a better keeper. I don't honestly see any weakness in his game. Every keeper gets caught on a certain day but with him, there's no particular facet that's weak."
